ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh calls on Governor of Goa Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai this evening and discussed ways to speed up exploration of marine minerals from coastal and ocean sources
Union Minister of State  Science & Technology; Minister of State  Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh called on Governor of Goa Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai this evening and discussed ways to speed up exploration of marine minerals from coastal and ocean sources and described it as a key to India's future economy.
Dr.Jitendra Singh said that India has emerged as one of the frontline nations in marine scientific research under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and now actively engaged in exploring the resourceful ocean bed for meeting the country's future energy and metal demands. He said, the “Deep Ocean Mission” initiated by the Modi government heralds yet another horizon to various resources to enrich the “Blue Economy”.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research  at Goa has the mandate of exploration of gas hydrate occurrences within the Exclusive Economic Zones as well as Multi-metal hydrothermal mineralization in the Indian ridge area.He said, apart from this the National Institute of Oceanography  with its headquarters at Goa operates two research vessels RV Sindhu Sankalp  and RV Sindhu Sadhana  that are equipped for multidisciplinary oceanographic observations.
DrJitendra Singh apprised Shri Pillai that under the guidance of Prime Minister, all the Science Ministries and Departments are now working on integrated theme based projects instead of a particular Ministry based or Department based projects. He said, recently directives were issued for close coordination and collaboration between Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology  at Bhubaneswar and NIOT , Chennai for accelerated progress in developing India’s blue economy and harnessing its ocean resources. He said, efforts are on for development of suitable technologies for effective mining of some of the deep-sea mineral resources and exploitation of gas hydrates resources and NCPOR can play a lead role in this.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, India’s blue economy is understood as a subset of the national economy comprising an entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction. He said, it aids the production of goods and services that have clear linkages with economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national security.
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SNC/RR
(Visitor Counter : 523
Department of Space
4th Indian Planetary Science Conference  at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, 22-24 March 2023
The Indian Planetary Science Association  is organizing the 4th Indian Planetary Science Conference 2023 from 22-24th March 2023 at the Physical Research Laboratory , Ahmedabad. Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, Director PRL, welcomed the dignitaries and the participants of IPSC - 2023.
The conference was inaugurated by the chief guest, Shri S. Somanath, Secretary DOS & Chairman ISRO and Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman PRL Council of Management. Dignitaries Shri Kartikeya V. Sarabhai, Shri M. Maheshwar Rao , and Shri Rajesh Khandelwal, Director DECU, also graced the occasion.
The Key-Note address was delivered by Shri A. S. Kiran Kumar where he emphasized upon generating human resource for efficient utilization of the space science and planetary data.
IPSA was then formally inaugurated and its logo and website were unveiled by the dignitaries. Prof. Varun Sheel  gave an overview of the conference and IPSA.
Later, Shri S. Somanath addressed the gathering and delivered the inaugural talk on “Indian Accomplishments in Space Science and Planetary Exploration”. Key results from Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan - 2, Mars Orbiter Mission , and AstroSat were presented. Shri Somanath also mentioned bout the upcoming missions such as Chandrayaan-3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. He also briefed upon missions in discussion and conceptualization phase such as, Venus Mission, Mars Landing Mission, LuPEX, DISHA, and XPOSAT.
Prof. D. Pallamraju, Dean PRL, Prof. R. D. Deshpande, Registrar, PRL, Dr. Neeraj Srivastava and Dr. K. Durga Prasad  were present along with delegates, invited guests and PRL fraternity at the gathering.
The IPSC-2023 is being attended by about 225 delegates from different parts of the country representing various institutions both academic and research, as well as universities and colleges. Early career scientists, both research fellows and PDFs will be awarded with Best Oral and Poster presentations on the last day of the IPSC 2023, sponsored by IPSA.
As a prelude to the IPSC 2023, a two days workshop was organized by PRL, where 50 students of M.Sc., M.Tech., and B.Tech. from 50 different institutions were selected and imparted training on different aspects of planetary science and exploration, along with hands-on experience.
GP/JD
સોશિયલ મીડિયા પર અમને ફોલો કરો : @PIBAhmedabad /pibahmedabad1964 /pibahmedabad pibahmedabad1964[at]gmail[dot]com
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PIB Headquarters
Designer leather products from 28 countries in IILF - 2019
Designer leather products from 28 countries will be displayed in the 34th India International Leather Fair  – 2019, which will be held from Feb 1-3, 2019, said Shri. P.R. Aqeel Ahmed, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports while addressing the press today. 450 exhibitors across the world are participating in the fair and a lot of new technology is being introduced. It is expected that this fair will be a platform for those who want to establish long term business relationship, he added.
He said that this year apart from the business to business meet, more investments are expected and separate desk for Investment India is been set up the in the IILF – 2019. So far, only foot wear production has been largest in the leather industry, now the leather goods like handbags and wallets are gaining popularity which is been followed by the leather garments.
With the Prime Minister’s Make in India schemes, international companies are coming forward to start their manufacturing units in India. So far, 20 manufacturing units have been started from the inauguration of the Make in India scheme in 2015, says Ms. Hema Maity, General Manager, India Trade Promotion Organisation.
Shri. Israr Ahmed, Regional Chairman , CLE said that CLE has proposed to state a MSME park mainly for the leather industry at Vellore in 100 acres and waiting for the State government for allocating the land. 38 to 40% share of the leather exports is from TN and 45% of people employed all over India in leather industry is from TN, he added.
Many international companies like NIKI have started moving their manufacturing unit to India from other countries like China, Korea and Bangladesh. NIKI which has a production unit in Cheyyar, now planning to open another unit in Krishnagiri, he added. He said that India is becoming a favourite destination for investment in the leather sector mainly for two reasons.  Cheap labor which is 120$ to 150$ per month and  Central and State governments support for the leather clusters where the production and processing are done in the same place. By 2020, the export target is US $ 10 billion, he said.
The three day leather fair at Chennai Trade Centre will be inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister. This year, the theme pavilion ‘Greening the Leather’ is being setup by ITPO, CLE, CSIR and CLRI. This year, the fair will also manifests its commitment to various initiatives taken by the Government and Industry such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’, and ‘Swachh Bharat’.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
DARPG’s Initiatives for the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
The Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh has desired official delegations from Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances , Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions may visit Srinagar to discuss the Department’s Initiatives for the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh for firming up the road map ahead.
Accordingly, the DARPG delegation led by Shri V. Srinivas, Additional Secretary DARPG had visited J&K on 4-5th September, 2019. A second visit was made by a team led by Shri V. Shashank Shekhar, Joint Secretary, DARPG on 20-21st September, 2019. In continuation of this, another visit to J&K was made by a team led by Shri V. Shashank Shekhar, JS, DARPG on 15th & 16th October, 2019.
The team that visited J&K on 15th & 16 October, 2019 had detailed discussions with regard to implementation of e-office across the Government of J&K, Capacity Building/Training of J&K officers, Conference on Disaster Management. The team also attended the Public Grievance hearing on 16.10.2019 conducted by Shri K.K. Sharma, Advisor to Governor and witnessed the Public Grievance Mechanism prevalent in J&K, wherein the Advisors personally listen to the grievances of the common man, and try to resolve the issues.
The team also requested J&K Government to facilitate detailed write-ups on success stories based on 11 applications received from them under Innovation Categories for Prime Minister’s Award so that minimum government, maximum governance  special issue could be brought out expeditiously.
The team also met Shri K Skandan and Shri Vijay Kumar, Advisors to Governor and the Principal Secretary, IT Department, Secretary RD & Secretary Art and Culture, J&K and discussed in detail about various J&K initiatives that are planned to be undertaken by DARPG. It was also discussed to look at producing short films/videos on the rich culture and heritage of J&K. A two days’ Conference on disaster management is scheduled on 30th November, 2019 at Jammu.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Day 2: G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists 
On the second day of the G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists  in Varanasi today, deliberations were held on Digital Agriculture and Sustainable Agri Value Chain & Public-Private Partnership in Agricultural R&D. MACS Communique was also discussed. Secretary  & Director General , Dr. Himanshu Pathak, who is also the MACS Chair, led the discussions.
Morning session deliberations focused on Digital Agriculture and Traceability; Digital Technological Solutions for Reducing Food Loss and Waste; Agri-tech Startup Ecosystem; Pluralistic Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services : partnerships for improving lab to land and outreach, Smallholder and Family Farming: G20- Global South Cooperation for Agri-R&D, Public-private Agri-R&D for Public Goods: Experience in Generating and Accelerating Innovations.
Earlier today, a bilateral meeting was conducted with FAO. Dr. Pathak emphasized that the extension service through KVK to farmers would be a very important area of cooperation. FAO representatives also expressed keen interest in extending cooperation in extension service. Dr. Ishmahane Elouafi, Chief Scientist, FAO, and Dr. Selvaraju Ramasamy, Senior Agriculture Officer, FAO participated in the meeting. They recognized India's strength in the seed sector, which will be very useful to other countries.
Later in the evening the delegates visited the archaeological site and ASI Museum at Sarnath and witnessed the light and sound show.
The three-day G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists  with the theme, “Sustainable Agriculture and Food System for Healthy People and Planet” is underway at Varanasi. The Meeting was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, and Road Transport and Highways, General  V K Singh  yesterday.
A session was conducted to discuss India's initiative on Millets and Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative . The representatives of G20 Nations, invited countries and International Organisations supported the MAHARISHI Initiative and expressed that millets being climate a smart crop and super health food, the International Research cooperation is pivotal for its promotion and adoption.
Dr. Himanshu Pathak and Mr. Philippe Mauguin, Chair & CEO, INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment  led their respective delegation in the bilateral meeting between India and France.
Both countries expressed keen interest in cooperation in the areas of climate change, crop diversification, soil & water conservation, natural farming and biofortified crops.
Last evening the delegates experienced Ganga Arati on a river cruise through the Ganges followed by an exhilarating cultural programme.
About 80 foreign delegates from the G20 Member States, Invited Guest Countries, International Organizations and Special Invitees by India are participating in the three day meeting.
On the concluding day on 19th April 2023 discussion on MACS Communique will continue.
Ministry of Railways
Railways Revenue Earnings up by 73% in Passenger Segment
Railways register growth of 48% in Reserved Passenger Segment and 361% in Unreserved Passenger Segment
The total approximate earnings in passenger segment for Indian Railways on originating basis during April to January 2023 is Rs. 54733 Crore, registering an increase of 73 per cent in comparison to Rs. 31634 Crore achieved during the same period last year.
In reserved passenger segment, the total approximate numbers of passengers booked during the period 1st April to 31st January 2023 is 6590 Lakhs as compared to 6181 Lakhs during the same period last year, showing an increase of 7%. The revenue generated from reserved passenger segment during the period 1st April to 31st January 2023 is 42945 Crores as compared to 29079 Crores during the same period last year, showing an increase of 48 %.
In Unreserved passenger segment, the total approximate numbers of passengers booked during the period 1st April to 31st January 2023 is 45180 Lakhs as compared to 19785 Lakhs during the same period last year, showing an increase of 128%. The revenue generated from Unreserved passenger segment during the period 1st April to 31st January 2023 is Rs 11788 Crores as compared to Rs 2555 Crores during the same period last year, showing an increase of 361%.
Election Commission
Bye Election to the Council of States from West Bengal
There is a casual vacancy in the Council of States from West Bengal as per following details: -
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State
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Name of Members
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Reason
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Date of vacancy
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Term Up to
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West Bengal
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Shri Luizinho Joaquim Faleiro
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Resignation
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11.04.2023
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02.04.2026
2. The Commission has decided to hold a bye-election to the Council of States from West Bengal to fill up the above-mentioned vacancy in accordance with the following schedule:
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Sl. No
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Events
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Dates
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Issue of Notifications
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06th July, 2023 
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Last date of making nominations
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13th July, 2023 
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Scrutiny of nominations
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14th July, 2023 
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Last date for withdrawal of candidatures
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17th July, 2023 
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Date of Poll
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24th July, 2023 
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Hours of Poll
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09:00 am- 04:00 pm
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Counting of Votes
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24th July, 2023  at 05:00 pm
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Date before which election shall be completed
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26th July, 2023 
3. Broad Guidelines of Covid-19 issued by ECI as contained in para 32 of Press Note, dated 29th March, 2023, available at link https://eci.gov.in/files/file/14863-general-election-to-legislative-assembly-of-karnataka-2023/ to be followed, wherever applicable, during entire election process by all persons.
4. The Chief Secretary, West Bengal is being directed to depute a senior officer from the State to ensure that the extant instructions regarding COVID-19 containment measures are complied with while making arrangements for conducting the said bye election.
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
Amalgamation of PMKSY to Schemes
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana  is amalgamation of various schemes viz. Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme , PMKSY –Har Khet Ko Pani  including Command Area Development , Surface Minor Irrigation  and Repair, Renovation and Restoration  of Water Bodies [Implemented by MoWR, RD & GR], PMKSY - Per Drop More Crop  [Implemented by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare] and PMKSY - Watershed Development  [Implemented by Department of Land Resources].
PMKSY has been approved for implementation across the country with an outlay of Rs.50,000 crore during 2015-2016 to 2019-2020. Further, during 2016-17, ninety-nine  on-going Major/Medium irrigation projects under PMKSY-AIBP having ultimate irrigation potential of 76.03 lakh hectare and balance estimated cost of Rs.77595 crore [Central Assistance  component of Rs.31342 crore] have been prioritized in consultation with States for completion in phases up to December, 2019 along with their Command Area Development & Water Management  works. Funding mechanism through NABARD has also been approved by the Government for both Central and State share. Details of various components including outlay etc. are as below:

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Component
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Potential/Target coverage

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Outlay

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CA Released 
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AIBP
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7.5 Lakh Ha.
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11060
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13815.22
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HKKP - CAD,
SMI, RRR of Water Bodies& GW
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CAD - 15 Lakh Ha.
RRR/SMI/GW – 6 Lakh Ha.
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9050
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PDMC 
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10 Million Ha.
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16300
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6366.46
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Watershed Development
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11.5 Lakh Ha.
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13590
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4651.37
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Home Affairs
One Day State Mourning on October 4, 2020 as a mark of respect on the passing away of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait
His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, passed away on September 29, 2020. As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the Government of India has decided that there will be one day’s State Mourning on October 4, 2020 throughout India.
The National Flag will be flown at half mast on all buildings throughout India where it is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment on the day.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Special Lecture organised on Child Labour by District Legal Services Authority, Tripura
, Tripura organised a Special Lecture on Child Labour: Issues & Challenges while observing the World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June, 2023.
Nyaya Bandhu’s  primary initiative is to establish a framework for dispensation of pro bono legal services across the country. Under Nyaya Bandhu, practising advocates, interested to volunteer their time and services, are connected, via mobile technology, with eligible marginalised beneficiaries. Nyaya Bandhu Mobile application  has been developed and also onboarded on the UMANG platform in collaboration with technical partner CSC e-Governance Pvt. Ltd.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs
More than 193.53 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 12.77 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The nationwide COVID 19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply  75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
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VACCINE DOSES
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SUPPLIED
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1,93,53,58,865
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BALANCE AVAILABLE
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12,77,80,635
More than 193.53 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India  and through direct state procurement category.
More than 12.77 Cr  balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
MCA crackdown on Chinese shell companies in India
SFIO arrests mastermind & chief plotter
After the simultaneous search and seizure operations conducted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 8th Sept. 2022, on the offices of Jillian Consultants India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jilian Hong Kong Ltd., at Gurgaon, Fininty Pvt Ltd at Bangalore and Husys Consulting Ltd, an erstwhile listed company at Hyderabad, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office  has arrested Mr Dortse yesterday.
Mr Dortse is on the Board of Jillian India Ltd and has clearly emerged as the mastermind of the whole racket of incorporating large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India and providing dummy Directors on their Boards. The arrested person Mr. Dortse had shown himself to be a resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh as per the records filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Evidence procured during the enquiry by ROC Delhi and the simultaneous search operations clearly points to dummy Directors being paid by Jilian India Ltd. to act as dummies in several shell companies. Boxes filled with company seals and digital signatures of dummy directors have been recovered from the site. The Indian employees were in touch with the Chinese counterparts through a Chinese instant messaging app. Husys Ltd. was also found to be acting on behalf of Jilian India Ltd.. Initial observations reveal that Husys Ltd. had a pact with Jilian Hong Kong Ltd. Investigations so far have revealed the possible involvement of these shell companies in serious financial crimes detrimental to the financial security of the country.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, under whose aegis SFIO operates, had assigned the investigation of Jilian Consultants India Private Limited and 32 other companies to SFIO on 9th Sept., 2022. Mr. Dortse and one Chinese national are the two directors in Jilian Consultants India Private Limited. Based on inputs and the investigations carried out, it was gathered that Mr. Dortse had fled from Delhi NCR to a remote place in the state of Bihar and was attempting to escape India through the road route. Immediately, a special team was constituted in SFIO which was deputed to the said remote place. In the evening of 10th Sept., 2022, SFIO had arrested Mr. Dortse, who was later produced in the Jurisdictional Court and Orders for his transit remand were obtained.